System and method for performing secure credit card transactions

ABSTRACT

A method and system of performing secure credit card purchases in the context of a remote commercial transaction, such as over the telephone, wherein only the customer, once generally deciding upon a product or service to be purchased, communicates with a custodial authorizing entity, such as a credit card company or issuing bank wherein such entity has previous knowledge of the credit card number as well as custodial control of other account parameters such as interest rate, payment history, available credit limit etc. The customer supplies the custodial authorizing entity with the account identification data such as the credit card number and a requested one of a possible plurality of predetermined payment categories which define the dollar amount for the purchase and specific, predetermined time parameters within which authorization by the custodial authorizing entity will remain in effect. The custodial authorizing entity then generates a transaction code which is communicated exclusively to the customer wherein the customer in turn communicates only the transaction code to the merchant instead of a credit card number. The transaction code is indicative of merchant identification, credit card account identification and a designated one of the plurality of predetermined payment categories.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of pending U.S. patent applicationSer. No. 11/252,009, filed on Oct. 17, 2005, which is a continuation ofU.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/037,007, filed on Nov. 4, 2001,which is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No.09/231,745, filed on Jan. 15, 1999 and now U.S. Pat. No. 6,324,526,issued on Nov. 27, 2001, which the entirety of each are incorporatedherein by reference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

This invention relates to a system and method of performing securecredit card purchases in connection with remote commercial transactions,wherein a credit card holder does not have to reveal their credit cardnumber to a merchant or a mechanism controlled by the merchant in orderto accomplish a purchase, and wherein the merchant is still assured ofthe necessary credit verifications and approvals prior to authorizingand/or completing a credit card transaction, thereby increasing overallsecurity by minimizing any access to credit card numbers without havingto substantially modify or deviate from existing, accepted credit cardtransaction practices.

2. Description of the Related Art

The utilization of credit and debit cards to conduct transactions isever increasing. This is especially the case with remote or “mail-order”transactions wherein merchants desire to be assured of a payment priorto shipping a product. For example, recent years have seen a substantialincrease in the popularity of televised shopping networks to furthersupplement the popularity of catalogue type sales. Moreover, theincreasing use and popularity of distributed computer networks such asthe internet has also contributed to the dramatic increase in the numberof remote commercial transactions conducted every day.

One primary reason associated with the rapid growth of remote commercialtransactions is the ability of a merchant to reach an almost limitlessnumber of potential customers at a substantially insignificant cost andwith little or no operating overhead since an actual store is notrequired. Additionally, such sales techniques permit customers to viewthe products and services in a greatly expanded marketplace,representing a great number of vendors, without extensive travel andwithout foregoing the privacy and convenience of their home or otherpredetermined computer site in some cases. Simply put, a telephone orlike communication avenue is all that is needed to place the consumer incontact with the merchant and complete the transaction.

The vast increase in popularity of remote commercial transactionsconducted over the telephone or internet is further facilitated by therelatively simple protocols and procedures necessary to conduct suchtransactions. In particular, in order to complete a valid transaction, amerchant need not physically see the customer or the credit card, butmust merely accept and enter a customer's credit card account number andan expiration date thereof to obtain authorization. This sameconvenience, however, is the primary disadvantage and/or problemassociated with conducting commerce in the manners set forth above.Specifically, there is a great reluctance on the part of the customer totransmit the credit card account information, including the credit cardnumber, because of the proliferation of fraud, and a well recognizedlack of security directed to the protection of such account information.Indeed, it has been established that security and privacy concerns arerealistic due to the fact that credit card account data is easilyreadable or interceptable by unauthorized parties, and can be readilyused for all types of remote transactions with minimal risk of beingphysically caught. In fact, unscrupulous individuals have many ways ofgaining access to a consumer's legitimate remote transactions andthereby obtaining the credit card information. This information can beobtained from old credit card receipts or even from the unauthorizednotation and use of the information by merchants or their employeesafter a legitimate transaction is made. Naturally, the latter is themost difficult to prevent utilizing known methods and systems unless aconsumer is willing to completely forego the use of a credit card forpurchases.

In the case of computerized remote transactions, as messages, includingaccount data or other confidential information, move across theinternet, they can easily pass through numerous computers, any one ofwhich can be utilized to copy such confidential information or data,thereby leading to a further risk of potential fraud when conductingsuch transactions. Presently, some companies currently seek to addresssuch security and privacy concerns by the employment of encryptionprograms and techniques. To this end there is an extensive facilityassociated with both public and private encryption schemes beingdeployed in order to guard the private or secured information beingtransmitted across the internet or like world wide networks.Unfortunately, however, even with such encryption techniques, theaccount information must usually still ultimately be transmitted to athird party who did not previously have access to that informationpreviously. Even some more sophisticated systems which seek to interposea separate computer or encryption entity between the consumer and themerchant so as to obtain authorization and forward it to the merchant,that information must still be made available to and/or transmitted tothat third party, thereby leaving open an avenue for fraud or theft.Further, such encryption techniques, even if minimally effective forcomputerized remote transactions, are not truly useable for otherconventional types of remote transactions, or even normal in persontransactions.

Based on the above, there is an obvious need in the field of artassociated with remote commercial transactions for a system and methodof performing secure credit card purchases of goods and services whichtruly reduces the risk of potential fraud and theft by eliminatingoutside access to a consumer's private credit card information withoutrequiring complex encryption equipment or significantly altering theease and convenience of current transaction techniques. Further, such asystem and method should also be effective for use in conventional, “inperson” transactions as well, thereby providing an added measure ofsecurity and minimizing the hazards associated with the passing on ofaccount information by unscrupulous merchants. Also, such a systemshould provide limits to potential loss or liability in a manner whichdoes not impede the transaction.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is directed towards a system and method ofperforming secure credit card purchases, wherein payment for goods orservices purchased is efficiently accomplished while eliminating thenecessity of disclosure or dissemination of a consumers specific creditcard number or other account data which the customer or other individualmay wish to maintain in confidence. The system and method of the presentinvention incorporates the advantage of consummating the purchase by thecustomer through the selection of any one of a plurality ofpredetermined payment categories. Collectively, the payment categoriesrepresent a variety of methods for accomplishing payment for a fixedtransaction, a multiple transaction and/or a repeating transaction.

One embodiment of the system and method of the present inventioncomprises a customer receiving information, including specific datanecessary for the purchase of any given product or service. Thispromotional information generated by the merchant can be received by anyof a plurality of conventional means including advertisements,catalogues, computer network connections, direct person to personcustomer and merchant contact, telephone solicitation, mail orders, etc.Once the customer has identified the product or services which he/shewishes to purchase, the customer contacts and supplies a custodialauthorizing entity with the requisite information concerning both theidentification of a specific credit card or debit card account and arequested payment category. Additionally, security against unauthorizeduse of confidential account data may also preferably include informationrelating to the merchant's identification and/or location.

The custodial authorizing entity is preferably defined as the entitywhich has or has been assigned the custodial responsibility for thefinancial account data of a customer's credit card account, including aprevious knowledge of the credit card number and other information suchas credit limits, payment history, available credit amounts and otherinformation which will determine the status of a given credit cardaccount in terms of authorizing a requested payment for a currentpurchase.

As part of the security system for accomplishing a commercialtransaction utilizing credit card or debit card payment, the custodialauthorizing entity includes sufficient facilities, preferably includinga processing computer or like applicable hardware for the generation ofan exclusive transaction code. The transaction code is to be used insubstitution for the credit card number and when utilized as authorized,will issue the merchant a credit approval, and will accomplish paymentfor the goods or services desired in the normal fashion normallyassociated with a credit or debit card transaction, without thepublication or dissemination of an identifying credit card number for aspecific customer's account to any entity that is not already aware ofthat information.

Further, a feature of the transaction code is its ability to indicateany one of preferably a plurality of predetermined payment categorieswhich may be either requested by the customer or automatically chosen bythe custodial authorizing entity based on the type of account or thetype of purchase or other commercial transaction involved. Each of thepayment categories are reflective of a different type of payment desiredor required to consummate the intended purchase. More specifically, theplurality of payment categories may include a single transactioninvolving a specific dollar amount for a purchase within a specific timeperiod, such as twenty four hours, during which authorization of thepurchase remains valid. Alternately, a single transaction may beinvolved wherein a maximum limit or a dollar amount is determined abovewhich the purchase will become invalidated and further wherein a fixedperiod of time is preferably established for maintaining authorizationof such purchase. Other alternatives would involve one or more of thecategories coded to define multiple transactions involving a maximumdollar amount for purchases, as well as a fixed period of time forauthorization of such purchases, and/or a repeating transaction whereinpayments may be automatically accessed by a merchant over apredetermined or unspecified time interval (such as every thirty days)for a specific dollar amount or a maximum dollar amount limit. Also,limits solely as to a specific merchant or a given time period can beeffectively established for which the transaction code is valid.

A further feature of the present invention to be described in greaterdetails hereinafter, is the requirement that the transaction code, oncereceived by the customer is transmitted to the merchant by the customeror a person specifically authorized by the customer. Only minimalcontact by the merchant and the custodial authorizing entity is providedfor purposes of the merchant verifying the validity of the transactioncode utilizing a conventional process electronically or otherwisesimilar to the verification of a credit card number normally offered toa merchant for the purchase of goods or services. There is, therefore,no disclosure, publication or other dissemination of the specific creditcard number of a given customer account beyond those entities whoalready know the information, and the transaction code is transmittedexclusively to the customer by the custodial authorizing entity who hasthe ability to better identify whether the customer is properlyauthorized to use the account. Moreover, the transaction code, oncegiven out by the customer, only has a limited usefulness, therebylimiting the risk of misuse and minimizing the potential losses to beexperienced by the credit card company and/or the account holder.

Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide asystem and attendant method for performing remote commercialtransactions utilizing credit cards, which maximizes the security of thetransaction and limits the potential liability to be experienced from afraudulent transaction.

Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a securesystem and method for establishing credit card purchases which eliminatethe disclosure or dissemination of the actual credit card number toanyone other than a custodial authorizing entity which normally hascustodial responsibilities for account information including thepreviously established credit card number.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a system andmethod of establishing secure credit card purchases through thegeneration of a transaction code which renders it extremely difficult orimpossible to access or infiltrate a customer's credit card account byunauthorized means.

It is yet another object of the present invention to provide a securemethod of completing a remote commercial transaction which eliminatesthe need to convey actual account information to a merchant, but whichallows the merchant to conduct a normal verification of informationneeded to consummate a given purchase.

It is also an object of the present invention to provide a system andattendant method of accomplishing secure credit card purchases whicheliminates the need to disclose or disseminate a given credit cardnumber while providing the customer with the versatility of choosing anyone of a plurality of predetermined payment categories.

It is yet another feature of the present invention to provide a systemand method of accomplishing secure credit card payments having theversatility of allowing the customer to select any one of a plurality ofpayment categories which are indicative of a variance in the amount of apurchase as well as the time in which authorization for such payment isvalid.

These and other objects, features and advantages of the presentinvention will become more clear when the drawings as well as thedetailed description are taken into consideration.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

For a fuller understanding of the nature of the present invention,reference should be had to the following detailed description taken inconnection with the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a schematic representation of a flow chart showing varioussteps involved in the performance of the system and method of thepresent invention for the secure credit card purchasing;

FIG. 2 is a schematic representation similar to that of FIG. 1 whereincustomer to merchant contact is accomplished by conventional facilitiessuch as television; and

FIG. 3 is a schematic representation similar that of FIG. 2 whereincustomer to merchant contact is established either by phone or inperson.

Like reference numerals refer to like parts throughout the several viewsof the drawings.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

As shown in the accompanying Figures, the present invention is directedtowards a system and method for accomplishing secure credit cardpurchases. Moreover, these purchases can be “in person”, but preferablyinclude remote commercial transactions such as mail order, purchasesover the internet, television solicitations, telephone solicitations,etc. Security is establish by virtue of the elimination of the need todisclose an active credit card number and expiration date to themerchant or any other party other than the original credit card company,issuing bank or like financial institution which already has custodialresponsibilities for the financial or account data associated with agiven customer's credit card account.

More specifically and with reference to FIG. 1 the system as well as anattendant method is preferably instigated by the customer viewing aproduct, identifying a desired amount for a transaction and/or receivingpromotional information as at 10, either in person or by any of theelectronic or more conventional techniques which will be described ingreater detail with reference to FIGS. 2 through 3. Once the customerreviews the product or promotional information and has sufficientinformation, such as including price, product or service identification,payment requirement, etc., regarding the remote commercial transactionto be conducted, the customer contacts, either by computer, telephone orin person, a custodial authorizing entity as at 12. The custodialauthorizing entity may herein be defined as comprising that entity orinstitution which has or has been designated by the entity which hascustodial responsibility for the financial data and security of a givencredit card account of a customer. As set forth above such custodialauthorizing entity can be represented by the credit card company issuinga credit card to a given customer or alternately can be represented by abank or other financial institution serving to sponsor a credit card ordebit card to the extent of processing the debits and credit associatedtherewith. The authorizing entity's custodial responsibilities of courseincludes the previous knowledge and/or storage of the credit card numberserving to identify a specific customer's credit card account. Oncecontacted, the customer then supplies appropriate identification data toinform the custodial authorizing entity of a specific customer's creditcard account as at 14. In addition, the customer will supply thecustodial authorizing entity with additional required information neededto consummate the purchase as well as ensure the security of the accountin order to prevent its unauthorized use. Such additional informationmay preferably include the identification of the merchant or merchantsinvolved, when such information is deemed necessary, and a requested oneof a plurality of predetermined payment categories to facilitateconsummation of the purchase of the products or services desired. Suchpredetermined plurality of payment categories will be discussed ingreater detail hereinafter.

Once the appropriate information has been received from the customer asindicated at 16, the custodial authorizing entity verifies the creditcard status and account identification of the customer to determine theviability of the account in terms of dollar amount limits, paymenthistory, available credit balance, etc. If the accessed credit cardaccount is not in good standing, the custodial authorizing entity willpermanently or temporarily terminate the transaction as at 18 and/orcommunicate to the customer directly as at 18′ by any applicable meansfor purposes of informing the customer of the unacceptable status of theaccessed credit card account. If the credit card account is in goodstanding, based at least in part on the requested payment category,(amount of payment), the custodial authorizing entity generates atransaction code as at 20. The transaction code is used in substitutionfor the specific credit card number which would normally identify acustomer's credit card account and would allow access thereto by anyentity having possession of the credit card number whether or not suchpossession was authorized or unauthorized. More specifically, thetransaction code is pre-coded to be indicative of a specific credit cardaccount, preferably a merchant or merchants identification and adesignated payment category, selected from the plurality ofpredetermined payment categories as set forth above. Once generated, thetransaction code is communicated exclusively to the authorized andverified customer by the custodial authorizing entity as at 22, whereinthe system and method of the present invention preferably restrictscommunication between the custodial authorizing entity and the merchantexcept to conduct a normal verification as will be explained.

The verified customer thereafter and preferably within a time limit tobe determined by the customer and pre-coded in association with thetransaction code, will directly or through an authorized representativecommunicate the transaction code to the merchant as at 24. The systemand method of the preferred embodiment of the present inventioncontemplates that only the verified customer will transmit the generatedtransaction code to the merchant in the case of a remote commercialtransaction, thereby limiting knowledge of the transaction code to thoseparties having a need to know. Of course, however, as the transactioncode will generally have a limited value as defied by the verifiedcustomer when obtained, the verified customer may designate an agent orother entity to act as the customer on his/her behalf, with the amountof potential liability to be experienced by such a transaction to belimited to the amount defined by the verified customer when obtainingthe transaction code.

At this point the purchase is consummated at least from the customerstandpoint in that the customer has previously established theacceptable status of the account. Therefore the customer feels free todisclose the transaction code to the merchant or merchants instead ofthe actual credit card number as at 22, 24 and is relatively unconcernedif the transaction code is published or otherwise disseminated tounauthorized entities. In a preferred embodiment wherein a merchantidentifier is pre-coded in association with the transaction code, thepre-coding of the transaction code will prohibit an unauthorized use dueat least in part to the fact that the merchant is specificallyidentified and any attempt to use the transaction code other than by theidentified merchant will be prohibited. In addition, the merchant isprevented from “overcharging” or “extending” the purchase by fixing thedollar amount to satisfy the specific cost or limit of the purchase aswell as a specific time limit or time parameters in which theauthorization for payment is valid. Such information, as set forthabove, is communicated by the requested and subsequently designatedpayment category as set forth above. Restricted communication betweenthe merchant and the custodial authorizing entity as at 26 is permittedexclusively for purposes of verification of the transaction code in amanner, which may utilize, at least to some extent, conventionalfacilities for the verification of a credit card number by mostmerchants or like commercial establishments. As a result, the merchantalso has a desired verification as to the validity of a transaction andcan effectively make arrangements to be paid by the credit card company.

If for some reason the transaction code is refused verification, thecustomer may be informed directly by the merchant as at 28 and or thetransaction may be terminated as at 30. Assuming verification of thetransaction code by the custodial authorizing entity, the merchantproceeds to consummate the purchase and send the order, as at 32, in thecase of a remote commercial transaction.

FIGS. 2 and 3 are representative of the versatility of the system andmethod of the present invention wherein the customer 54 may receive theaforementioned promotional information from the merchant 56 by anyappropriate means such as television solicitation as at 58, phonesolicitation as at 60 and/or personal solicitation as at 62. Once thecustomer receives the promotional information, which may include theviewing of the product itself, or in advance if a general estimate as tothe ultimate cost of an anticipate purchase(s) can be made prior toviewing promotional information, the customer contacts the custodialauthorizing entity 64 by any appropriate electronic or conventionalfacilities such as direct phone to phone contact as at 66 and 66′ ordirect computer contact as at 46′, 45′. Once the customer'sauthorization is confirmed, details of the anticipated transaction areestablished so as to determine a payment category, and the a transactioncode is issued to the customer. The customer, either directly or througha representative, can then utilize the transaction code to consummate atransaction within the defined parameters of the payment category.Moreover, the merchant 56, through a conventional, yet restrictedcommunication with the custodial authorizing entity 64 by any of aplurality of conventional or electronic methods using computer tocomputer linking as at 44′, 45′ or by telephone transmission as at 56′,66′, can obtain a verification and subsequent payment utilizing thetransaction code only.

As emphasized above, an important feature of the present invention isthe ability of the customer to request a desired or a required paymentcategory and the ability of the custodial authorizing entity 64 and/or aprocessing computer 45 of the custodial authorizing entity to issue atransaction code in accordance with the payment category. The paymentcategories, may be collectively defined as a variety of different typesof transactions. Such transactions may include a single transaction fora specific amount of a purchase to be consummated. Alternatively, thepayment category may include a single transaction defined by a singlepurchase having a maximum limit amount, wherein the specific or precisecost of the purchase has not been determined for a variety of reasons,and as such, the customer desires to set a maximum amount for which thesingle transaction may be made. Accordingly, with such a paymentcategory, the exact amount may not be known in advance, but the customeris assured of not paying over the specifically designated maximum limit.In addition, the transactions are preferably, but not necessarily,authorized to be conducted only over a fixed life period of time, suchas within twenty four hours, thereby ensuring that an outstandingtransaction code does not remain valid if not used as generallyintended. This limited time period can, of course be varied or omitteddepending upon the wishes of the customer and/or the policies of thecustodial authorizing entity. Also, these or any other payment categorytransactions may include a specific merchant identification to furtherrestrict use of the transaction code.

The payment category may also include a multi-transaction authorizationwherein more than one purchase may be made from one or a plurality ofdifferent merchants, each of which may or may not be identified by thecustomer and pre-coded in association with the transaction code, andwherein a total cost of the plurality of purchases may not exceed amaximum limit amount. This transaction can also be limited to having totake place within a predetermined, designated fixed life span, such asbut not limited to twenty four hours. Accordingly, in some instanceswherein a customer, or an agent of the customer, such as a child,guardian, or care giver, must make a number of transactions or purchaseswhich are authorized by the customer, the customer may designate amaximum amount which can be spent utilizing a particular transactioncode within a predetermined period of time, and/or can designate thatonly one merchant, whether designated or not, can use the transactioncode.

As yet another alternative, the payment category may include a repeatingtransaction for a specific amount to be paid in each of a fixed numberof intervals. For example, the customer may which to join a gym orreceive services or products over a fixed number of payment intervals,such as every thirty days. Accordingly, the merchant will be authorizedto charge the credit card account designated by the correspondingtransaction code a fixed monthly payment. Similarly, a repeatingtransaction for a stated minimum interval such as every thirty days maybe authorized for a specific amount for an unspecified number ofintervals wherein the merchant will be authorized to continuously obtainpayment on a “monthly” basis until the customer decides to cancel suchauthorization.

Since many modifications, variations and changes in detail can be madeto the described preferred embodiment of the invention, it is intendedthat all matters in the foregoing description and shown in theaccompanying drawings be interpreted as illustrative and not in alimiting sense. Thus, the scope of the invention should be determined bythe appended claims and their legal equivalents.

1. A method of performing secure credit card purchases, said methodcomprising: a) contacting a custodial authorizing entity havingcustodial responsibility of account parameters of a customer's accountthat is used to make credit card purchases; b) supplying said custodialauthorizing entity with at least account identification data of saidcustomer's account; c) defining at least one payment category to includeat least limiting a number of transactions to one or more merchants,said one or more merchants limitation being included in said paymentcategory prior to any particular merchant being identified as one ofsaid one or more merchants; d) designating said payment category; e)generating a transaction code by a processing computer of said custodialauthorizing entity, said transaction code reflecting at least the limitsof said designated payment category to make a purchase within saiddesignated payment category; f) communicating said transaction code to amerchant to consummate a purchase with defined purchase parameters; g)verifying that said defined purchase parameters are within saiddesignated payment category; and h) providing authorization for saidpurchase so as to confirm at least that said defined purchase parametersare within said designated payment category and to authorize paymentrequired to complete the purchase.
 2. The method of claim 1 furthercomprising the step of designating at least one of said one or moremerchants subsequent to generating said transaction code.
 3. The methodof claim 1 wherein said step of communicating the transaction code to amerchant to consummate said purchase within defined purchase parametersfurther comprises designation of said merchant as one of said one ormore merchants.
 4. The method of claim 1 wherein said step of generatingsaid transaction code further comprises said customer obtaining saidtransaction code.
 5. The method of claim 1 further comprising generatinga transaction code which reflects at least one of a plurality of saidpayment categories.
 6. The method of claim 1 further comprising definingat least one payment category to include amount parameters for a cost ofone or more purchases.
 7. The method of claim 1 further comprisingdefining at least one payment category to include time parameters duringwhich the purchase can be completed.
 8. The method of claim 1 furthercomprising defining at least one payment category to include limitingsaid transaction code to a single transaction for a purchase within apredetermined period of time.
 9. The method of claim 1 furthercomprising defining at least one payment category to include limitingpurchases to a single transaction at a maximum amount for purchasewithin a predetermined period of time.
 10. The method of claim 1 furthercomprising defining at least one payment category to include limitingpurchases to at least two purchases at a maximum total amount for itemspurchased within a predetermined time period.
 11. The method of claim 1further comprising defining at least one payment category to includeusing said transaction code for at least two purchases for a repeatingtransaction at a fixed amount payable at each of a fixed number of timeintervals.
 12. The method of claim 11 further comprising defining atleast one payment category to include limiting purchases to saidrepeating transaction at said fixed amount payable at each of said fixednumber of time intervals.
 13. The method of claim 1 further comprisingdefining at least one payment category to include using said transactioncode for a repeating transaction at a fixed amount payable at each of anunspecified number of time intervals.
 14. The method of claim 1 furthercomprising defining at least one payment category to include limiting arepeating transaction to a maximum dollar amount.
 15. The method ofclaim 1 further comprising defining at least one payment category toinclude limiting purchases to a limited time interval during which apurchase is permitted.
 16. The method of claim 1 further comprisingcommunicating said transaction code to the customer at the location ofthe merchant for use in person.
 17. A method of performing secure creditcard purchases, said method comprising: a) identifying a pre-establishedaccount that is used to make credit card purchases; b) selecting apredetermined payment category which limits a nature, of a series ofsubsequent purchases to one or more merchants, said one or moremerchants limitation being included in said payment category prior toany particular merchant being identified as one of said one or moremerchants; c) generating a transaction code by a processing computer ofa custodial authorizing entity of said pre-established account, saidtransaction code associated with at least said pre-established accountand the limits of said selected payment category and different from saidpre-established account; d) communicating said transaction code to amerchant to consummate a purchase within defined purchase parameters; e)verifying that said defined purchase parameters correspond to saidselected payment category; f) providing authorization for said purchaseso as to confirm at least that said defined purchase parameters arewithin said selected payment category and to authorize payment requiredto complete the purchase; and g) associating the purchase with saidpre-established account.
 18. The method of claim 17 wherein said step ofverifying that said defined purchase parameters correspond to saidselected payment category further identifies said merchant as one ofsaid one or more merchants.
 19. A method of performing secure creditcard purchases, said method comprising the steps of: a) identifying apre-established account that is used to make credit card purchases; b)selecting a pre-determined payment category which limits a nature of asubsequent purchase to one or more merchants, said one or more merchantslimitation being included in said payment category prior to anyparticular merchant being identified as one of said one or moremerchants; c) generating a transaction code by a processing computer ofa custodial authorizing entity of said pre-established account, saidtransaction code associated with at least said pre-established accountand the limits of said selected payment category, and different fromsaid pre-established account; d) designating a merchant as one of saidone or more merchants; e) communicating said transaction code to saidmerchant to consummate a purchase within defined purchase parameters; f)verifying that said defined purchase parameters correspond to saidselected payment category; g) providing authorization for said purchaseso as to confirm at least that said defined purchase parameters arewithin said selected payment category and to authorize payment requiredto complete the purchase; and h) associating the purchase with saidpre-established account.
 20. The method of claim 19 wherein said step ofverifying that said defined purchase parameters correspond to saidselected payment category further identifies said merchant as one ofsaid one or more merchants.
 21. A method for implementing a system forperforming secure credit card purchases, the method comprising: a)receiving account information from an account holder identifying anaccount that is used to make credit card purchases; b) receiving arequest from said account holder for a transaction code to make apurchase within a payment category that at least limits transactions toa single merchant, said single merchant limitation being included insaid payment category prior to any particular merchant being identifiedas said single merchant; c) generating a transaction code utilizing aprocessing computer of a custodial authorizing entity, said transactioncode associated with said account and reflecting at least the limits ofsaid payment category, to make a purchase within said payment category;d) communicating said transaction code to said account holder; e)receiving a request to authorize payment for a purchase using saidtransaction code; f) authorizing payment for said purchase if saidpurchase is within said payment category.
 22. A method for implementinga system for performing secure credit card purchases, the methodcomprising: a) receiving account information from an account holderidentifying an account that is used to make credit card purchases; b)receiving a request from said account holder for a transaction code tomake a purchase within a payment category that at least limitstransactions to one or more merchants, said one or more merchantslimitation being included in said payment category prior to anyparticular merchant being identified as one of said one or moremerchants; c) generating a transaction code utilizing a processingcomputer of a custodial authorizing entity, said transaction codeassociated with said account and reflecting at least the limits of saidpayment category, to make a purchase within said payment category; d)communicating said transaction code to said account holder; e) receivinga request to authorize payment for a purchase using said transactioncode; f) authorizing payment for said purchase if said purchase iswithin said payment category.
 23. The method of claim 21 wherein thestep of receiving account information from an account holder identifyingan account that is used to make credit card purchases further comprisesreceiving information identifying a credit card account.
 24. The methodof claim 21 wherein the step of generating a transaction code utilizinga processing computer of a custodial authorizing entity furthercomprises generating a transaction code which reflects at least one of aplurality of predetermined payment categories.
 25. The method of claim21 wherein the step of receiving a request from said account holder fora transaction code to make a purchase within a payment category that atleast limits transactions to a single merchant further comprisesreceiving a request from said account holder for a transaction code tomake a purchase within a payment category that is automatically chosenby a custodial authorizing entity.
 26. The method of claim 21 whereinthe step of receiving a request from said account holder for atransaction code to make a purchase within a payment category that atleast limits transactions to a single merchant further comprisesreceiving a request from said account holder for a transaction code tomake a purchase within a payment category that includes limiting arepeating transaction to a maximum dollar amount.
 27. The method ofclaim 21 wherein the step of receiving a request from said accountholder for a transaction code to make a purchase within a paymentcategory that at least limits transactions to a single merchant furthercomprises receiving a request from said account holder for a transactioncode to make a purchase within a payment category that includes limitingpurchases to a minimum time interval after which a subsequent purchaseis permitted.
 28. The method of claim 21 wherein the step ofcommunicating said transaction code to said account holder furthercomprises communicating said transaction code to said account holder atthe location of the merchant for use in person.
 29. The method of claim21 wherein said step of receiving a request to authorize payment for apurchase using said transaction code further identifies said singlemerchant.
 30. The method of claim 21 wherein the step of receiving arequest from said account holder for a transaction code to make apurchase within a payment category that at least limits transactions toa single merchant further comprises receiving a request from saidaccount holder for a transaction code to make a purchase within apredetermined payment category that is further limited in accordancewith transaction details provided by said account holder.
 31. The methodof claim 22 wherein the step of receiving account information from anaccount holder identifying an account that is used to make credit cardpurchases further comprises receiving information identifying a creditcard account.
 32. The method of claim 22 wherein the step of generatinga transaction code utilizing a processing computer of a custodialauthorizing entity further comprises generating a transaction code whichreflects at least one of a plurality of predetermined paymentcategories.
 33. The method of claim 22 wherein the step of receiving arequest from said account holder for a transaction code to make apurchase within a payment category that at least limits transactions toone or more merchants further comprises receiving a request from saidaccount holder for a transaction code to make a purchase within apayment category that is automatically chosen by a custodial authorizingentity.
 34. The method of claim 22 wherein the step of receiving arequest from said account holder for a transaction code to make apurchase within a payment category that at least limits transactions toone or more merchants further comprises receiving a request from saidaccount holder for a transaction code to make a purchase within apayment category that includes limiting a repeating transaction to amaximum dollar amount.
 35. The method of claim 22 wherein the step ofreceiving a request from said account holder for a transaction code tomake a purchase within a payment category that at least limitstransactions to one or more merchants further comprises receiving arequest from said account holder for a transaction code to make apurchase within a payment category that includes limiting purchases to aminimum time interval after which a subsequent purchase is permitted.36. The method of claim 22 wherein the step of communicating saidtransaction code to said account holder further comprises communicatingsaid transaction code to said account holder at the location of themerchant for use in person.
 37. The method of claim 22 wherein said stepof receiving a request to authorize payment for a purchase using saidtransaction code further identifies a merchant as one of said one ormore merchants.
 38. The method of claim 22 wherein the step of receivinga request from said account holder for a transaction code to make apurchase within a payment category that at least limits transactions toone or more merchants further comprises receiving a request from saidaccount holder for a transaction code to make a purchase within apredetermined payment category that is further limited in accordancewith transaction details provided by said account holder.